Lai Qiangsheng
Associated Press
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China announced more military exercises in Taiwan on Aug. 15 as the president of the self-governing island met with members of the new U.S. congressional delegation, threatening Beijing and Washington after a recent similar U.S. visit. Tensions have risen again between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, angering China.
Pelosi is the highest-ranking member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and her visit prompted nearly two weeks of threatening military exercises in China, which it claims is its own island. During the drills, Beijing fired missiles at the island and into the Taiwan Strait, and sent warplanes and naval ships across the waterway’s centerline, which had long served as a buffer zone between the two sides divided in the 1949 civil war.
China has accused the US of encouraging the island’s independence through arms sales and contacts between US politicians and the island’s government.
Washington has said it does not support independence, has no formal diplomatic relations with the island, and insists the two sides should resolve disputes peacefully – but it is legally obligated to ensure the island can withstand any attack.
U.S. and Taiwanese officials have accused China of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse for intimidation, and a senior U.S. official said recently that Washington will continue to deepen ties with Taiwan in the coming days and weeks.
The most recent trip began on Aug. 14 with little advance notice — prompting more anger in China. The delegation was due to leave later the next day.
“China will take firm and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing, as Beijing announced new drills in the waters and skies surrounding Taiwan. “A small group of American politicians colluded with the separatist forces for Taiwan independence in an attempt to challenge the one-China principle. This is beyond their depth and is doomed to fail.”
The Defense Ministry said earlier that the new exercise was aimed at “resolutely responding to and solemnly deterring collusion and provocation between the United States and Taiwan.”
It is unclear if the new drills have already started, as the ministry did not detail the location and timing of the drills compared to previous rounds.
U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., met with President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie and lawmakers, according to the U.S. Institute on Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan.
Tsai Ing-wen said at the meeting that her government was working with allies to ensure stability in the Taiwan Strait and maintain the status quo — a reference to Taiwan’s autonomy from Beijing.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year showed the threat that authoritarian states pose to the global order,” Cai said.
Markey responded that Washington and Taipei have a “moral obligation to do everything we can to prevent unnecessary conflict, and Taiwan has shown incredible restraint and caution during challenging times.”
The senator also highlighted legislation aimed at strengthening political and economic ties with Taiwan, especially in the critical semiconductor industry. Taiwan is an important supplier of computer chips to the global economy, including China’s high-tech industries, and in addition to the geopolitical risks of escalating tensions in the region, a prolonged crisis in the Taiwan Strait could have major implications for international supply chains at a time when the world is already facing chaos and uncertainty.
Markey is one of the few remaining members of Congress who voted for the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which ensured continued ties with Taiwan after U.S. diplomatic recognition shifted from Taipei to Beijing. The other members of the delegation were Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen from American Samoa, as well as Democrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia.
China has said it wants to use peaceful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its latest threat of force underscores its threat to occupy the island by force. The earlier drills appeared to be a rehearsal for a blockade or attack on Taiwan that would force the cancellation of commercial flights and disrupt shipping to Taiwan’s main ports and cargo passing through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, the Taiwan Strait.
The drills have prompted Taiwan to put its military on alert, but have largely been met with contempt or indifference by a public accustomed to living in China’s shadow.
Luo Zhicheng, chairman of Taiwan’s legislature’s foreign affairs and defense committee, said after the meeting that the U.S. “visit at this time is significant because the Chinese military exercise is (to) prevent U.S. lawmakers from visiting Taiwan” with U.S. lawmakers.
“Their visit this time proves that China cannot prevent politicians from any country from visiting Taiwan, and also conveys an important message that the American people stand with the people of Taiwan,” Luo said.
A senior White House Asia policy official said China had stepped up pressure on Taiwan under the pretext of Pelosi’s visit to Huawei.
“China has overreacted and its actions continue to be provocative, disruptive and unprecedented in nature,” Kurt Campbell, a deputy aide to U.S. President Joe Biden, said in a call with reporters last week.
Campbell said the U.S. will send warships and planes through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks and is working on a roadmap for trade talks with Taiwan, which he said the U.S. intends to announce in the coming days.
